The Amphiptere
by xEmrys
Summary: Merlin/Arthur; Gaius had always been a pessimist, but as he suspected: Arthur and Merlin find them selves on a deadly hunting-trip-gone-wrong...
1. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

"Merlin," Gaius tried to grab the young warlocks attention, "You will be careful today, won't you?"

"I'm always careful," the boy smiled at his mentor and returned to what he was doing; (packing for a hunting trip). He dashed around the room, stuffing random supplies into his bag and overfilling it slightly.

The elderly man cleared his throat and looked down at a book open before him, "Have you ever heard of the Amphiptere?"

Merlin spun around to face his guardian, wondering where this conversation was heading. It wasn't unusual for Gaius to be worried, (he was such a pessimist) but the sorcerer knew it would be foolish to ignore what the man had to say.

Seeing the wizard shake his head, the physician decided to continue, "The Amphiptere is a mythical creature, said to be from a far away land."

Merlin raised a curious eyebrow, "Is there a reason you're telling me this?"

"Several outline villages say that they have recently seen a large, winged serpent flying over local forests and rivers. Not only that, a few villagers – mainly hunters – have reportedly gone missing."

"And you think they are talking about this Amphiptere thing?" Merlin asked as he walked over to where Gaius was seated and eyed the book he was reading. On one of the two open pages, was an illustration of this 'flying serpent'. It looked both hostile and benevolent at the same time, but something told the young sorcerer that it wasn't friendly.

"Maybe. I just want you to be careful. This creature is dangerous, and you won't be prepared to face such a thing if it it really is out there."

Gaius had Merlin's attention for a while. He wasn't sure what to make of their short conversation, but there was one thing he was certain of: he had to protect the Prince from the possibility of being attacked by a large, lethal creature. "Should I warn Arthur?" he _had_ to ask. If there was a dangerous monster lurking in near by forests, the last thing he wanted to do was become it's prey.

The medical man shook his head, "He would probably dismiss it..." He was right. The warlock knew what Arthur could be like, it was probably best to leave the matter for the time being,"After all, you leave today. I fear it may be to late to change your minds."

_Maybe nothing bad will happen after all. _Merlin kept telling himself, but he couldn't shake the horrible feeling he had...

For the next fifteen minutes, the sorcerer spent his time packing, _and_ preparing for a possible creature attack. Using magic, he copied a few pages about the Amphiptere and stuffed them in his bag. Gaius didn't like it, but he understood. Even if he didn't, the dragon-lord could be stubborn and would have done it anyway. Now he would have some information with him if it was needed.

"I am going to wake his royal highness," Merlin announced, knowing that if he didn't go now the prince would never wake up.

"Wait," Gaius called after the boy as he grabbed his bag and swung it over his shoulders. The man picked up a small vial of green liquid and placed it in Merlin's hands. He took the bottle and stared at it wonderingly, "If anything does happens to you or Arthur, drink this potion! And, take care my boy."

"I will." Merlin wrapped his arms around the old man and said his good-byes, before making his way out of the door and dashing down the corridor.

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><p>The wizard was shocked to see the future king up and dressed, when he entered the room. He couldn't help gasping and exclaiming the obvious, "You're dressed!"<p>

"Your observation skills are _amazing _Merlin," Arthur chuckled, whilst trying to tighten his belt. Mind you, he couldn't really see what he was doing until his servant strode over to the windows and pulled the curtains open – lighting up the room.

"Maybe you should wear you armour..." the boy muttered and watched as the princes mouth pulled into a smile. He was trying to suppress a laugh, causing the young warlock to frown at him. His features screaming '_what's-so-funny_'.

"I will wear my wrist bracer's and neck plate, but I highly doubt I will need to go out in a full suit of armour. We are hunting deer and wild boar, not creatures of '_great evil_'."

"What if we get attacked by... something else?"

"Stop being such a girl Merlin, you are coming whether you want to or not. I know you are pretty useless on hunting trips, but I need _someone_ to carry everything," he obviously thought his servant was trying to make excuses in order to get out of going, "And fetch me my breakfast, I'm starving."

At that, the sorcerer slipped out of the room to fetch the prat some breakfast. He knew how moody the prince could be when he was hungry and he really didn't fancy having things thrown at his head. Arthur had a habit of lobbing the first thing he could get his hands on – one day that object would be deadly!

* * *

><p><em>Firstly; I don't know how quickly I will update this. I have a very busy schedule recently, so please forgive me for that. Either way, I will try to finish this fiction in due time, (and not leave it unattended to)!<em>

_Secondly; this fiction __will__ be a mild slash (Merlin/Arthur) fiction! So, if you don't like then this isn't for you. That being said, it won't get _too _fluffy!  
><em>

_Thirdly; The Amphiptere (Pronounced: Am-Fih-Tear) is said to have lived in Northern America and (Aztec) Mexico. I did some research on the creature, but will have to invent a few things. I'll explain a little more at the end. (I guess that gives a little bit away). ^^;_


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Merlin found it impossible to convince Arthur that going on this hunting trip wasn't a good idea. As usual his advice was ignored. After all, what did a mere servant know? Much more than the thick headed prince realised...

"Why did you decide to go hunting _today_?" of all the days to choose from, Arthur certainly knew the _worst _ones to decide upon.

"Did you have plans for today?" Arthur was riding in front, but his smirk could be detected from miles away.

"How could I?" Merlin murmured sarcastically, just loud enough to be heard. How could he have plans for _any_ day when he was running around after a arrogant prince all of the time.

The monarch sighed, "Look, it's been a little hectic back at the castle recently. I just needed a brake from everything. Then again, if it's peace and quite I am after, maybe I shouldn't have bought _you_ along."

Merlin ignored his teasing for now and decided to get back at him later. He could easily come up with 100 insults off the top of his head. Although, sometimes he would sit there for hours thinking of something to say.

They rode quietly for a while, with the odd exception of Merlin randomly humming because he couldn't bare the silence. Arthur never uttered one work, although he wanted to stop and tie his servants scarf around his mouth to shut him up.

When they had ridden deeper into the forest, Arthur dismounted his horse and Merlin soon followed. They tied there stallions to a small tree and gatherer their equipment, "Are you sure about this?"

"Merlin, what is wrong with you today?" the prince couldn't understand why his servant was being such a baby all of a sudden. It was just a hunting trip!

"Nothing," the boy paused, "I just have a bad feeling."

Arthur sighed and rolled his eyes. _A feeling, _he mentally repeated, "Were you born so pessimistic, or is Gaius' personality rubbing off on you?"

"I guess it's yet another one of my many gifts," Merlin resorted, wishing the monarch would listen to him every once in a while.

"I'll be sure to add it to the _long_ list."

* * *

><p>The sun soon began to set, causing the sky to turn a burnt-orange colour. Nothing bad happened after all. Merlin couldn't help sighing in relief, causing Arthur to give him strange looks, (although, that wasn't unusual. The prince was always giving the boy strange looks).<p>

The pair were glad to be back with their horses once again. It had been a long day, but a safe one and that was something the young warlock was thankful for.

"Well, that was fun," Merlin began smiling like the idiot he was.

"You mean apart from being chased by a boar?" Arthur chuckled, remembering their _incident _several hours ago. They were walking along, minding their own business – sort of – when a large boar began charging at Merlin for no apparent reason.

The wizard pouted, "It came out of no where! Seriously, it was so scary!"

Camelot's heir laughed. He wasn't sure what he found more amusing: the memory or Merlin's current expression. He looked like a five year old who couldn't get his own way. "Hey, don't worry, I will protect you from scary wild boar," the prince teased, nudging his servants arm. Merlin felt his cheeks heat up slightly, although Arthur didn't seem to realise what he had just said.

After sorting out the horses, the two were ready to disembark. The prince had already mounted his horse and began waiting for his servant to do the same. Merlin was still sorting the supplies, when a shiver ran down his spine. A large shadow blocked the sun for a split second and a bird-like noise rang through the forest.

"W-what was that?"

Arthur rolled his eyes, "It was probably a pheasant. "


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

The _pheasant _hovered above the trees, waiting for an appropriate moment to land. It watched as the two humans below prepared to leave the forest. Or attempt to at least...

* * *

><p>Merlin jumped as he heard a twig snap. He spun around expecting to see something dangerous; not realising that he was the one whom stood on the said piece of tree. He fumbled with the equipment<strong>, r<strong>ushing to tie everything to his horse so the two could return to Camelot (hopefully) unharmed. Needless to say, he was a little scared.

Arthur, however, was growing impatient and wondered whether he was really dealing with his manservant or a little maid. In the Princes mind, Merlin could certainly pass as both.

"Merlin, would you hurry up. I would like to get back to Camelot _today!"_

* * *

><p>The <em>bird <em>still hovered below the clouds, but every second it was centimetres closer to the ground – slowly moving in on the people it recognised as _prey. _It swooped and dived, whilst attempting to be inconspicuous. Not wanting to be seen or heard.

* * *

><p>Darkness began closing in as the burnt auburn sky started to turn deep blue. Soft pink clouds made the atmosphere above look like it was covered in candy-floss. The two colours, (pink and blue) merged together to create the lovely scene up above.<p>

That unusual cry rang though the forest once again. Birds fled their nests and flew upwards. Tiny creatures scurried to their burrows and herd animals practically started a stampede. The prince and his servant stopped to watch the forest animals dash away from, (what Arthur still thought was), a bird...

Suddenly the sound of crunching leaves was heard behind the pair. In union, they slowly turned their heads, hearts racing and breath held. Their eyes focused upon the small figure sat below them...

It was pheasant. Quite literally a pheasant...

* * *

><p><em>Sorry for the extreme shortness of this chapter! And for the random scene changes. I was trying to create suspense. Well, I don't know if it worked, but I hope you will enjoy this all the same.<em>


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

Merlin sighed and began sucking in large amounts of air. He hadn't realised that he had stopped breathing until his lungs began screaming out for oxygen. They burnt inside the skinny boys chest, and continuously complained until they were satisfied.

"See, what did I tell you?" Arthur began with the whole '_I-told-you-so_' thing, "Now stop being such a wuss and get a move on!"

The wizard shook his head and frowned. He wasn't going to argue with the arrogant prince. Plus, luck didn't seem to be on his side. It plot against him, threatening to ruin his the rest of his evening. A sudden sharp pain sprang up and ran around his head, spinning in circles and preforming somersaults. Merlin began to feel dizzy as the _pain_ continued to dance around.

He grabbed his head with both hands – as if he was trying to catch the pesky prong – causing him to drop the reins and eventually fall off his stallion. He landed on his side as he hit the floor and was knocked uncontentious for a split second.

"Merlin!" Arthur called. He stopped instantly, jumped off his horse and rushed to his servants side. He slipped his hand under the warlocks head, (as if it were a pillow), trying to support him and make him a little more comfortable,"Merlin, what happened?"

The sorcerer sat up and tried to get out of the princes grasp. He rubbed the back of his head and squeezed his eyes shut several times; as if he had just seen something and was checking to make sure it was really there,"It's nothing. I'm okay," he wasn't lying. The sudden excruciating pain faded away, getting smaller and smaller until it became none existent and almost forgotten.

_Fine?_ How could he be fine? He _had _just fallen off his horse after all. Surely he would have injured him self in one way or another. He wasn't made of steel and he certainly wasn't invincible! This was confirmed when he tried to stand up. His arm burnt with agonising pain. It hurt so much that he could not suppress a rather squeaky sounding, _Owch._

The prince helped Merlin onto his feet and watched him attentively, making sure he didn't fall to the ground again. Of course he wasn't exactly going to show any sign worry, so he put on his irritating, cocky front, "Merlin, don't fall of your horse this time."

"I didn't dent that particular patch of earth did I?" Merlin teased and earn himself a nudge in the ribs, which he found pretty painful.

They were walking back towards their transportation, when a rather high pitched squeal rang throughout the land. Merlin covered his ears and turned to look at the only other person in the forest with him, "Let me guess, another pheasant?" he asked mockingly, with a hint of fear in his voice.

The future king lifted a bow from his saddle and cautiously looked around the forest. Something didn't feel right. Butterflies flew to his stomach and a voice at the back of his head began screaming, _Run!_

When the _noise_ was heard again, the pair gulped and exchanged fearful looks, before turning to face the _creature_ (whatever it may be). Arthur readied his crossbow and made sure his _'brave face' _was still intact. Whereas Merlin tried to recall several spells that might have been useful. They span around, (as slowly as possible), looking for the beast that owned such a horrible sound. Again there was nothing scary behind them; in fact, there was nothing behind them at all. Not even a cute little rabbit.

The monarch huffed angrily. He couldn't believe they were wasting so much time fearing thin air. It was so stupid! Or so he though. At that moment in time, it became apparent that someone (or some _thing_) was breathing down his neck, "Merlin? Is that you?"

"A-Arthur," the warlock had already turned to face the horses once again. The only problem was – their four legged mammals could not be seen. They were hidden behind a large snake-like beast. The creature, reaching almost 40 feet in length, stared at the humans before him – it's eyes flashing gold momentarily.

Merlin smiled at the animal and abruptly reached out to touch its colourful feathers. He thought it was the most beautiful being he had ever seen. He marveled at the way it spread its rainbow wings and he found the frill around its neck very attractive.

Arthur watched in shock as his servant took a step closer to the creature and stretched out his hand. He tried grabbing the wizards shoulder and ordering him to stop, but it didn't work. Something was wrong. He carried on inching forward, not even listening to his mater. His eyes, from what the prince could tell, were no longer the shining sapphires he was used to. They had turned a magical shade of gold and hardly portrayed any emotion; as if they had been taken over by something powerful.

Merlin obviously wasn't going to snap out of it any time soon. He wasn't going to turn around and run. He just kept going. The creature seemed to be smirking, (if that were possible) as it opened it's mouth to welcome the sorcerers skinny hand.

Arthur slapped his servants wrist and pulled him away before the creature snapped down, swallowing a mouthful of air. The beast wasn't happy about that. It growled in disapproval. Much to the monarchs dismay, Merlin was still under control; attempting to reach forward again.

The blond prince had finally had enough. He fired an arrow at the serpent-like dragon and watched as it merely damaged a few feathers. A second arrow just about scratched its skin and the third seemed to have pierced it. The creature yelled out. It didn't do a lot of damage, but it gave Merlin and Arthur enough time to escape it's gaze. Although technically, Merlin was _dragged_ away from it's slightly scary glare.

"It was so beautiful," the wizard murmured as he was practically hauled across the floor.

Arthur looked behind and realised that the creature was – once again – no where to be seen. Part of him wanted to do a U-turn and return to the horses, but the other part didn't want to risk getting caught. Instead, they kept running and praying. Well, the prince was praying. Merlin was still mumbling on about how gorgeous the winged animal was.

The said creature let out another ear screeching cry, that sounded like someone clawing a sheet of glass. The pair had to find somewhere to hide and as quickly as possible. They wouldn't be safe until they knew what they were up against.

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><p><em>As promised, a slightly longer chapter! Sorry it took so long for me to get it posted! I was having internet related problems... ^^;<em>

_Thank you **starzinmieyez** for the reviews! :D_


	5. NOTE!

**Authors Note:**

Hello! I know that it's against the rules to use chapters for Authors notes, but I don't have time to send all my subscribers messages. So, sorry about that!

I just wanted to apologise for my lack of updates! You see, I store all of my writing on a little USB memory stick, (as I'm sure many people do) and I seem to have lost it. I moved a couple of weeks ago, so it's probably in a box or somewhere stupid. I'm sure it will turn up at some point, but until it does I can't post the next couple of chapters!

I might re-write them from scratch at some point, but I don't know. I think I'll just review what I have written so far and take it from there. Thus, there's a chance that this fiction will either be completely re-written or deleted...

So, sorry, sorry, sorry and sorry! Also, sorry for the false alarm. No new chapters today, just me...

**Please DON'T post a review in reply to this note! If you have anything to say then please send me a private message! **


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